Estonian representatives investigated the experience of Finland in organising the seafront

The Finnish and Estonian Ministers of the Environment met in Helsinki yesterday to discuss the activities for improving the state of the Baltic Sea. The Estonian Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus-Rosimannus stated that the Estonian delegation wished to receive an overview on Finland’s experience on keeping the seafront clean. During the one-day visit, the Ministers agreed on a more detailed exchange of experience on solving the seafront air problem in Estonia.

“The Helsinki seafront area no longer has problems similar to the problems we are experiencing in the Russalka and Merivälja areas, where nutrient-rich rain water that is forwarded into a bay with a slow water turnover starts causing problems,” explained Keit Pentus-Rosimannus. “In Helsinki, the rainwater is forwarded into the ground as well as deep into the sea. Although the solution cannot be fully implemented in the same way, we can, however, use Finland’s years of experience in finding a solution for the foul-smelling air in the Russalka, Merivälja and Pirita areas.”
In her view, the Ministry of the Environment is ready to invest at least five million euros to clean up the air in the Pirita, Merivälja and Russalka areas in Tallinn. “The technical solutions must also take into account the experience of other countries in the Baltic Sea Region in solving similar problems,” explained Pentus-Rosimannus.

In the beginning of July, a research carried out by the TUT Marine Systems Institute scientists was introduced in the Ministry of the Environment, giving one possible solution to the foul-smelling air – constructing a rainwater pipe deep into the sea. According to the modelling data, carrying rainwater into the deep sea will not significantly increase the nutrient load, because due to the relief of the gulf floor and the main wind direction, nutrients are carried towards the open sea.

During the meeting, the Estonian and Finnish Ministers of the Environment discussed the activities of the Estonian-led Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, the Action Plan for decreasing marine litter and better access to data from various countries regarding the environmental status. Both Ministers also stressed the importance of moving forward with works necessary for building the BalticConnector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland.